Monday, May 20, 2013

My Favorite Herbs for Cooking + Weekend Projects

Hi everyone!  Hope you enjoyed the weekend.  I had my hands in a bunch of different things, including my annual planting of herbs in pots.  I've been doing this for years now and I love having all my favorite herbs for cooking right at my fingertips.

It also saves a ton of money over the course of the late spring, summer, and early fall.  The potting soil and herbs cost me around $20, which I could spend a week buying small little containers of herbs at the grocery store.

My favorite herbs for cooking, and ones that also tend to grow really well in pots, are chives, flat leaf parsley, rosemary, basil, mint, thyme, dill, tarragon, and cilantro.


Try planting your own this summer if you want to cook along with me and save yourself some money.  All you need is some good potting soil, pots, and the herbs.  I water them every day or every other day in the summer and that's about it.  Believe me...if I can grow these, you can grow these!

The chives come back on their own every year.  I planted the parsley and rosemary in small pots on their own this year because I usually try to bring these two inside in the cold months and keep them going in a sunny window.  The mint and basil are together in a large pot because they both tend to grow big and tall.  

I also got some work done on a few other projects this weekend.  Here are a few peeks.

A new coffee table for our screened porch, made almost entirely with things I had lying around:


A lacquered wooden tray made from scrap materials:


Spring cleaning and sprucing of the screened porch:


Can't wait to show you full details on all of these soon!

17 comments:

  1. Can't wait to see the coffee table.
    We plant herbs too and my hubby was so mad to see that a bunny ate the parsley already, LOL.

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  2. ooh that coffee table looks amazing already!!!! i can't wait to see it!

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  3. That coffee table is going to be amazing!!! Are you going to stain it, paint it or leave it unfinished? Can't wait to see! I wish I was half as handy with a saw as you! ;-)

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    1. Stain! I have a weathered grey-ish one I'm hoping turns out like I'm picturing in my head :)

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  4. The tray is lovely. Great job!

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  5. I love love love having herbs at my finger tips as well. I spent the weekend getting some of my summer veggies planted too. I planted some Genovese basil in a pot. I've never tried chives before so I think I'll give them a try. I'm also planning to plant a few other herbs I've never grown before: pineapple sage, chocolate mint, marjoram, and parsley. Thanks so much for sharing. I can't wait to see all your projects!

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  6. Just by seeing all that green from the back porche I could give ip everything and live there
    Thanks for sharing
    Cris

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    1. We do kind of live in the woods - it's a suburban town but very rural-feel.

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  7. oooo, I can't wait to see how the herringbone coffee table is going to turn out!!

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  8. Wow! My friend you have been busy... can't wait to see all the pictures of your projects. LOVE planting my own herbs - never knew chives came back - thanks for that scoop.

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  9. Can't wait to see the coffee table!

    I really need to work on my herb garden! I want fresh herbs!

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  10. Great minds think alike! :) Loving your table so far - it's going to look great!!

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  11. Oh so jealous of your porch, looks like such a great spot to relax! Love those pillows.

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  12. We have major mosquitoes in the summer, so it's extra nice!

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  13. That table looks so awesome! I love screened porches. I want to build one...one of these days...Can't wait to see yours :) Happy weekend!! xo K

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